Medieval myths: the story behind Walsall’s wonderous wooden wands

The mysterious origins of the Bayard's Colts - a collection of 17 ceremonial wooden clubs dating back to the 1400s - will be explored at the Walsall Leather Museum on Wednesday 3 April (7.30pm-9pm). The free event has been organised by academics from the University of Bristol. The colts are normally held in store and two will be brought out in a special display case for this occasion, enabling visitors to get closer to the colts than ever before. Named after the mythical horse, Bayard, which features in several legends surrounding the French emperor Charlemagne, the colts were carried at processions and civic events in the Walsall area for centuries. Many of the colts have a carved wooden character at its head and one, which will be on display at the event, is thought to depict Charlemagne himself. During the mid-19 ^th century, the clubs were hung on the walls of the Magistrates' Court in the Walsall Guildhall but in 1969 two of the clubs fell from their hanging place while the court was in session and were found to be infested with wood worm. They were then transferred to the care of Walsall Museum, which arranged for their restoration.